


Side B (Smile 'Cause You Want To)

by clotpolesonly



Series: Stackson Parentfic [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 04:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18933442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clotpolesonly/pseuds/clotpolesonly
Summary: “Are you blowing bubbles?” Jackson demanded. “Stiles, are you actually blowing bubbles right now?”Stiles stopped, leaning his head back instead to pout at Jackson upside down. “What, so Henry’s allowed to blow bubbles in the bath and I’m not?”“Henry is three years old.”“Age is but a number, my love,” Stiles intoned with an air of great wisdom and significance. “I’m three at heart.”“That explains so much about you.”





	Side B (Smile 'Cause You Want To)

**Author's Note:**

> oookay so i got inspired and am posting _two_ fics for Stackson week's Established Relationship day XD it isn't any direct sort of continuation from Side A, just another snapshot of them about a year, year and a half, into the future. easily read as a standalone.
> 
> thanks to rieraclaelin on tumblr for the prompt!!

Jackson sank down into the bathtub until nearly every bit of him was submerged in perfectly hot, steamy water. The stress of the day melted out of him bit by bit and he had never been more grateful to have a house with two full bathrooms, tubs included. Otherwise he would’ve had to wait until _after_ Stiles had gotten Henry washed up from his adventures through the muddy backyard, in which case he might have just gone right to bed and missed out on this luxurious indulgence.

The distant sound of Henry’s squeals of laughter reached him, Stiles cursing at the mess they were making, Stiles cursing at himself for cursing in front of the baby, some very loud splashing, more baby giggles. Jackson smiled to himself and slid under the water.

It was quieter when he came up. He must’ve dozed for a while because it seemed like just a second later when the bathroom door opened and Stiles came clomping in. He looked a hot mess. His hair was even more of a disaster than it usually was, his clothes disheveled and thoroughly damp. There were still streaks of bubbles on his shirt _and_ his face.

“You survived bathtime,” Jackson observed.

Stiles snorted. “Just barely.” He pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it in the vague direction of the laundry hamper as he kicked his shoes aside. “The next time I propose letting Henry run wild and get messy because it’s a natural part of growing up and I did it plenty as a kid, remind me to apologize to my father.” His dirt-streaked jeans joined his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Jackson asked.

“Well, I’m already wet,” Stiles said. “Figured I might as well join you.”

Jackson’s indignant noise was ignored as Stiles stepped right into the already occupied bathtub. It was a chaotic moment of splashing and slipping and tangled limbs until Stiles had managed to successfully insert himself between Jackson’s legs and settle back against his chest. It left the water level dangerously high, but once it stopped sloshing like the inside of a washing machine, it was actually pretty alright. And they somehow managed _not_ to turn the entire bathroom into a swamp in the process.

“Oh yeah, that’s nice,” Stiles sighed, wiggling himself into a more comfortable position.

Jackson refused to agree with him out loud, just on principle, so instead he said, “I assume you got Henry put to bed? Do I need to go tuck him in, say goodnight?”

Stiles groaned. “Don’t you _dare._ He was out like a light and I swear, if you wake him up again, I will—”

“Okay, okay! No bedtime story for me, then.”

Some nights Jackson would be upset at the prospect, but they’d had a good few minutes when Jackson had gotten home for Henry to babble at him about his exciting day while Stiles had gotten Henry’s bath running, so he would let the kid sleep now. Tomorrow was Saturday anyway; they’d have all day to spend together. If he remembered correctly, the three of them were going to the park to meet up with Scott and Kira and baby Mel.

Mollified, Stiles turned to nuzzle his cheek against Jackson’s chest, sinking just that much lower into the warm water. Then—

“Are you blowing bubbles?” Jackson demanded. “Stiles, are you actually blowing bubbles right now?”

Stiles stopped, leaning his head back instead to pout at Jackson upside down. “What, so Henry’s allowed to blow bubbles in the bath and I’m not?”

“Henry is three years old.”

“Age is but a number, my love,” Stiles intoned with an air of great wisdom and significance. “I’m three at heart.”

“That explains so much about you.”

Stiles snorted and tried to slap at Jackson’s leg, but there were four inches of water in the way so it wasn’t very effective. He didn’t seem to care much, just settling back into the cradle of Jackson’s arms without further complaint.

Jackson leaned down to press a kiss to Stiles’ wet shoulder. “You must be really worn out to just let that go.”

“Toddlers, man,” Stiles said. “They’re a lot.”

“A lot of what?”

“Just…a _lot._ ”

Sometimes Jackson felt guilty for having an office job that kept him away so much. Not that Stiles didn’t work too, but his job was the flexible one, and that meant he was the one home with the baby most of the day. That Jackson had fought with his boss to get a modified four day week had helped, but Stiles was still left with the lion’s share of the daily child-watching responsibilities and it was a rare day that didn’t leave him exhausted.

Jackson tightened his grip. “You gonna fall asleep on me?”

“Maybe.”

“Will you be grumpy if I let you fall asleep and then wake you up in a few minutes?”

There was a moment of silence, long enough for Jackson to wonder if Stiles actually _had_ fallen asleep in the last few seconds, before Stiles made a plaintive noise. “Probably,” he admitted.

Jackson hid his smile in Stiles’ hair, then dropped a kiss there. “Then come on,” he said. “Up we get. Now, before you lose all will to move and I have to carry you to bed.”

“You know, that’s not as much of a disincentive as you seem to think it is.”

“If you can still use the word ‘disincentive’, then you’re awake enough to get there on your own.”

Stiles grumbled but was relatively cooperative when Jackson pushed him upright. They toweled off in turn, passing the towel between them since Stiles hadn’t thought to get one for himself out of the hall closet before crashing Jackson’s bath. He was swaying on his feet by the time Jackson had herded him into their bedroom and began manhandling them both into pajama pants, eyes drooping, mumbling out something only moderately coherent about their plans for tomorrow.

Jackson shushed him and pushed him down on the bed. “You just go to sleep,” he said. “I’m gonna go check on Henry.”

“Don’ wake ’m,” Stiles slurred into the pillow.

Pulling the comforter up to tuck his husband in, Jackson smiled. “I won’t. Promise.”

That was enough of a reassurance, apparently, because Stiles burrowed deeper into his nest with an appreciative noise. Before Jackson could leave, though, Stiles reached out to catch his hand on some sort of sleepy reflex. Whatever he tried to say was too muddled by tiredness and pillow to be decipherable, but Jackson didn’t need to hear the question to understand it.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. “I promise that too.”

Stiles let him go and was fast asleep by the time he even got to the door. Jackson leaned there for a long minute, just watching him. Then, in a fit of sentimentality that was much more Stiles’ wont than his own, he retrieved his phone from the dresser and snapped a picture. It had taken over a year to finally break Stiles of the nervous habit of filming every moment of every day, but that didn’t mean some moments didn’t still deserve to be memorialized.

And this moment, as Jackson left his husband content in their bed to go check on their sleeping son, was about as perfect a moment as he could think of.

**Author's Note:**

> [rebloggable on tumblr!](https://clotpolesonly.tumblr.com/post/185088367716/ohhh-the-taking-a-bath-together-for)


End file.
